Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Worth the $95 Annual Fee?
by Lyle Daly | Dec. 17, 2018
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This article was updated September 29, 2020
If you want a travel credit card that won't cost you hundreds of dollars per year, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an affordable option. It has a solid lineup of perks and a substantial sign-up bonus. To help you decide if it's worth the $95 annual fee, we've summed up its features and looked at how it stacks up against the competition.
80,000 bonus points ($1,000 value)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has one of the most impressive sign-up bonuses on the market, which is its big draw. You'll start off with 80,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 within three months of opening the account. Points are worth $0.0125 each on travel bookings made through Chase Ultimate Rewards, making this bonus worth $1,000. We should also note here that it's possible to get more value from your points if you transfer them to Chase's travel partners.
Bonus points on travel and dining
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2 points per $1 on all your travel and dining purchases, double its standard rate of 1 point per $1 on non-bonus spending. And through a special partner offer, it also earns 5 points per $1 on Lyft rides through March 2022.
To be fair, some of the best travel rewards cards in the same annual-fee range have more bonus categories or earn more points per $1. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's rewards rate is respectable, but it does lag behind a few of its competitors.
Diverse travel redemption options
One reason Chase credit cards are so popular with travelers is Chase Ultimate Rewards points. When it comes to point redemption, you have so much flexibility that they are some of the most valuable travel points around.
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to any of the credit card company's many partners. That's a long list of airline and hotel loyalty programs. It's possible to get over $0.03 per point with these transfers if you shop around and find a good award booking.
If that's too complicated or you can't find what you want, you can always just book using the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. As we mentioned earlier, that will get you $0.0125 per point.
DoorDash benefits
Being a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholder gets you a complimentary DashPass membership for a minimum of one year. You just need to activate it before Dec. 31, 2021.
DashPass is DoorDash's subscription service that gives unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery and reduced service fees. Those perks apply on all qualifying food purchases over $12.
Extensive travel and purchase protections
Your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also includes quite a few complimentary protections on eligible purchases. Here's a quick breakdown of its travel and purchase protections:
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: Decline the rental company's collision insurance and your Chase card's primary coverage will provide actual cash value reimbursement for theft and collision damage.
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: Coverage in case your trip is canceled or interrupted by sickness, severe weather, and other covered situations. You can get reimbursed up to a maximum of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for all your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses.
- Baggage delay insurance: If your baggage is delayed for over six hours by a passenger carrier, you can get reimbursed for essential purchases, up to a maximum of $100 per day for five days.
- Trip delay reimbursement: On common carrier travel that's delayed by more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for up to $500 per ticket for unreimbursed expenses.
- Purchase protection: Eligible new purchases are covered for 120 days against damage or theft, up to maximums of $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Extended warranty coverage: Eligible U.S. warranties of three years or less are automatically extended by one year.
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's annual fee worth it?
It's certainly worth getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for the sign-up bonus alone. Since those 80,000 points are worth at least $1,000 towards travel, the bonus covers the annual fee 10-times over.
Getting it is one thing, but is it worth keeping the card? You'll recoup this card's $95 annual fee if you earn at least 7,600 points per year, given that you can redeem them for $0.0125 per point towards travel. So if you spend at least $3,800 a year on travel and dining or $7,600 per year on non-bonus purchases, you're good to go.
That's easy enough for most consumers, but we would recommend you also look at other top credit cards. You might find that it's worth upgrading to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® for the additional perks. Or perhaps there's another travel card that provides more value than the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card on a year-to-year basis.
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About the Author
Lyle is a writer specializing in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. His work has also appeared on MSN Money, USA Today, and Yahoo! Finance.
We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
